To Get Back
by Gogoats
Summary: Somehow, during the 4th Great Ninja War, Tenten is thrown back in time and into another dimension. Stuck inside her younger self’s body, she must find a way to get back to her own world, no matter what it takes.


**Chapter 1**

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This story contains spoilers if you haven't finished Naruto or Naruto Shippuden

This is the first fic I have ever written, and I haven't planned anything out so I'll just be winging it. I'm hoping this will be a long term type project.

The au is based off of the road to ninja Genjutsu world and tentens infinite tsukuyomi dream but some things are different.

Minor language and probably some gore later on. Any romantic type relationships is a MAYBE. We'll see how it goes

Hope you enjoy!

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Tenten's eyes snapped open. Her head was aching, and she needed a few moments to adjust to the bright lights that filled the space around her. Her mind was racing. Images of war, death, and just straight up craziness flashed in her mind, going away as fast as they appeared. She felt dizzy, and had trouble making out what exactly just happened.

_The war!_

Panic spread all throughout her body as she grasped at her surroundings. What is this? Why was she laying down in what seemed to be a bed? Wasn't she fighting just a few moments ago? She tried to remember what happened before her apparent black out, but her mind was blanking.

Realizing that she was in no immediate danger, Tenten took a deep breath. After a few minutes of calming herself down, she finally decided to take in her surroundings.

_Where am I?_

The room was clean and boring, and had a faint smell of chemicals in the air. A few medical objects she recognized around the room gave away that she was in some kind of infirmary. Tenten recognized the room as one in Konoha's hospital. Anxiety stabbed at her chest.

_What happened? Did we win?_

She had to see the others. Were they okay? Did they all make it? The village didn't seem to be in any trouble at the moment, and someone _had _to have taken her to the hospital. Was everything really alright? She prayed she wasn't one of the only ones to have made it back.

Tenten yanked the blanket off her legs and stood up, almost immediately falling back down. She had a terrible back ache, and her limbs were riddled with small cuts, bandages covering a few of the deeper ones. It was bearable, for now, at least until she found out what had happened to her friends.

Tenten stumbled to the door as fast as she could, stopping for a moment to let her vision clear, and flung open the door. Without looking, she turned, took a step and -**WHAM!**\- smacked her forehead right against someone else's, who just happened to be walking by. Tenten clumsily fell to the floor.

"Ow.." She rubbed her head. "Sorry, I was in a rush and I didn't notice..." She opened her eyes and felt her heart drop.

"Tenten? You should really try to be more careful. I could've been anyone, you know." The boy standing in front of her sighed and straightened his Konoha headband.

"N-Neji!?"

Without a doubt, Tentens deceased teammate Neji Hyuuga was standing right before her. Dread started to spread throughout her body as the images of his lifeless body flashed within her mind.

He offered his hand. "I came to visit you and Lee. It seems that you have already recovered, though."

Tenten gawked at him, not listening to a thing he said. Was this really Neji? He was wearing the clothes he use to wear when they were still genin. He still had baby fat around his face, and looks a lot shorter than Tenten remembers. Now that she thought about it, he looks exactly like he did when they were still little genin.

"You're alive?"

Neji frowned, hand still reaching out for Tentens. "Well of course. Why wouldn't I be?" After a few seconds, his face seemed to soften with realization. "I know Lady Hinata can be a bit hectic at times, but she wouldn't go as far as to try and kill me."

Tentens gut started to twist. What was he talking about? If this was some kind of sick joke or genjutsu, she had some words and a few pointy objects for the clown who made it.

_Genjutsu! _Of course! She must have fallen for an enemys trick. Without missing a beat, she picked herself off the floor, ignoring her apparent fake teammate. She put her hands together and closed her eyes.

"Release!"

Nothing happened. Maybe she wasn't focusing enough. She tried again, a bit louder than before.

"Release!"

"What are you doing?"

Tenten furrowed her brow in irritation. Why was it not working? This was obviously some sort of genjutsu, but why was she not able to break through it? _This jutsu must be stronger than what the regular release can break._ She put her hand to her chin. She would have to find another way to get back to her reality. If this fake Konoha was indeed a copy of her own world, then there had to be fake ninja that knew about genjutsu. Maybe there was someone here who could teach her a different way to break the hold.

Still standing in front of her, Neji had a look of confusion and worry on his face. "Tenten, are you feeling alright? You're acting silly."

Tenten continued to ignore him, lost in her own thoughts. If a fake ninja were to teach her about genjutsu, then wouldn't that itself be fake too? What if this world didn't know anything about genjutsu? It was obviously different. Neji was _alive._ She decided she would have to do more research.

"Uh, I have to go home."

Tenten walked past him towards the stairwell, thinking of places that would be good for gaining information. Before she could get very far, she heard her fake teammate call out to her.

"Are you at least going to change into some real clothes?"

Tenten stopped dead in her tracks and looked down at herself, face flushing with embarrassment. She didn't even notice that she was only wearing a hospital gown. She turned and walked back to the room, grinning sheepishly at the fake Neji. He had his arms crossed, probably finding the whole situation foolish.

"Don't you want to come see Lee too? He could probably use some cheering up after his loss."

Tenten stopped once again at the door as she felt a tinge if worry. "What happened to Lee?" As soon as the words left her mouth she internally smacked her forehead. Why would she care about anything that happens in this world? What does it matter?

"He lost his match. He even gave it his all for once, but in the end he just couldn't keep up with Gaara's sand."

"Gaara?" Why was Lee fighting Gaara? She thought back to the Chuunin exams, the only time she could remember Lee having a serious fight with the sand ninja.

That gave her an idea. Before the Hyuuga could respond, she slammed the door and ran to a closet she presumed had her clothes. She opened it and was suddenly hit with realization. Without a doubt, they were her old clothes, the ones she used to wear when she was still a genin. She'd been thrown back in time! And into the middle of the Chuunin exams. She must've woken up after her match with the sand kunoichi Temari. This was no ordinary genjutsu she was dealing with, but something else entirely.

Something was off, though. Her pink shirt had a few patches of different cloth stitched on, and her pants were worn and torn at the leg holes. She couldn't remember a time where she owned such raggedy clothing. Was this really the only pair she had with her?

"Well, Lee's room is at the end of the hallway." Neji called from outside the door before walking away. Tenten sighed and decided it would be best to play along, at least until this fake world gave her time to do some research. Even if the people in this world weren't real, she didn't want to come off as rude. She changed and made her way to the room Lee was staying in.

The Preliminaries. Tenten remembers how tough her and her bushy-browed teammate's losses were on them. She remembers his devastating injuries on his arm and leg. After her childhood hero Lady Tsunade had told Lee he would never be a ninja again, Tenten truly believed that hard work and determination would never compare to natural born talent. But Lee never gave up, going against all odds and continued to work hard to become one of the most splendid ninja she had ever known. His perseverance inspired her to never give up on her dream to become a legendary kunoichi.

Tenten reached the doorway and stepped inside, once again being taken aback by what she saw. Lee was out of bed, standing in front of Neji with a hand behind his head. There wasn't a scratch on him. As a matter of fact, Lee was already dressed in his signature green jumpsuit, obviously ready to check out of the hospital.

Tenten didn't know what to think. He wasn't injured at all! He didn't even have his regular bandages on. Was there something she wasn't getting? This was all happening in the middle of the Chuunin exams, right? She had spent this whole time preparing herself to see a broken Lee once again, but he seemed perfectly fine! _This genjutsu world really is different._

"Oh, Tenten! It is so good to see that you are alright!" He gave her a thumbs up. "We did not know when you would wake up, you having the worst injuries out of the three of us. It seems we had nothing to worry about!" Despite his cheerfulness, Tenten could tell something was upsetting him. Before she could ask, however, a familiar voice sounded behind her.

"Lee, you fool! There is always something to worry about." Tenten let out a involuntary squeak as she turned to face who she believed was her sensei. Instead she was met by someone who looked 20 years past their prime and hadn't took the aging well. _What has this world done to Guy-sensei!_

"How could all three of my precious students be defeated so easily!" He fell to his knees and began to sob. "How will I ever surpass Kakashi, my eternal rival, if I'm too weak to even guide my own pupils on the right path. If only I could've trained you when I was in the springtime of my youth!"

Guy-sensei continued to cry into his hands while Lee tried to comfort him. Tenten looked over at Neji, who was staring at the ground while wearing an unreadable expression on his face. "You lost your match too?" Whether he heard her or not, he didn't bother to answer. He did mention something about Hinata earlier. Did the shy little Hyuuga girl really get the best of him? _This genjutsu world really is-_

"That's it!" Guy-sensei's sudden scream startled Tenten out of her thoughts. "No more fooling around! We're heading for the training grounds, immediately!"

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The village seemed to buzz with excitement, the Chuunin exam finals being only a few weeks away. Talk of 'child prodigies' and other interesting characters filled the air as the villagers bet on their favorites in the match ups.

As the four made their way to the training grounds, Tenten couldn't help but wonder what else was different about this worlds Chuunin exams. She figured Neji had lost his match to his cousin Hinata, which means she would match up against the loud-mouthed Naruto Uzumaki in his place. But what if Naruto also lost? What if lots were drawn differently this time?

It hurt her head just thinking about it, but she guessed it didn't matter, considering none of Team Guy would even be participating.

Actually, why was she thinking about it at all? Her only thought should be about how to get back to her real world. No matter what happens, she couldn't lose sight of her goal.

Yet, this fake world seemed so... peaceful. There was no war, the people around her alive and well. Maybe staying here for a little while wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Tenten? You've been acting strange since the hospital."

The sound of her name snapped Tenten out of her thoughts once again. Neji had hung back to walk beside her, leaving the other two chattering away a few meters ahead. She still felt a little ache in her chest when she looked at him. It hadn't been very long since she last saw his dead body.

She turned her head and gave him a sweet smile. "Sure, I'm fine." It didn't sound very convincing, but thankfully he didn't push any further. Lying was one thing, but explaining her situation would just make her sound crazy.

A few minutes later and Team Guy finally arrive to the training grounds. After stretches and warmups, Tenten went off to train by herself, wanting time alone to think. Something had been bugging her since she left the hospital, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. What was she forgetting?

Tenten sat with her legs crossed on one of the wooden training posts, lazily throwing shuriken at the targets in the trees as she thought. After the first few flew, she was able to adjust to her younger selfs body and hit bullseye for the rest of them. It didn't seem to matter what body she was in, throwing ninja tools and hitting her marks was now just muscle memory to her.

Of course, using shuriken and kunai were basic skills for a shinobi. Hell, even the little kids learning at the academy could do it. Even so, Tenten keeps on practicing until she's even deadly accurate in her sleep.

As the training went on, Tenten noticed how relaxed she was. It was surprising to her, considering the situation she was in. She almost feels guilty about it.

A sigh escapes her lips. _It can't be helped. _She lets three more shuriken fly, each rhythmically thudding into their targets. The birds chirped loudly, and she could hear the faint hum of the village around her. It had been a while since she felt so calm.

She also noticed what she wasn't hearing. Tenten turned her head to the side, looking for her seemingly silent teammates, only to find them gawking at her.

Tenten swallowed nervously. "Uh, can I help you?" Lee was the first to speak. "Tenten! That is unbelievable!" Tenten hopped off the post and went to gather up her tools, eyeing him with a slight look of worry. "What is?" "You are hitting your marks! And look, you have not even hurt yourself yet! Amazing!" She stopped, eyebrow giving a slight twitch. "Huh?"

Neji spoke up this time. "Well, usually you don't.. you're not very.." He looked up, almost like he was too embarrassed to say what he wanted. Tenten raised an eyebrow at him while he stammered.

"Not very what?"

"Uh, well, you see.."

Guy-sensei took the liberty to step in. "This is just surprising, Tenten, you're terrible at weaponry! Usually you'd have trouble just _holding_ a shuriken properly, but now you're throwing them like a master!" He dramatically covered his face with a hand. "The power of youth truly is remarkable! Oh, how I long to once again experience my boyhood from long ago!"

As he rambled on, Tenten's face started to flush with anger. _What the hell are they talking about? _"That's insulting!" She huffed and crossed her arms. "I've never been bad at weaponry."

Neji and Lee glanced at each other, then back to Tenten, who whipped around and started towards her home.

"Wait, hold on! We did not mean any offense! We just thought-"

"Oh, save it! I'm going home!"

And with that, Tenten decided that she hated this genjutsu world, and she would do whatever it takes to get back to her own reality.

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End file.
